Another Alleged Image of the Low-Cost iPhone Rear Shell Surfaces

[cwoloszynski]

No LTE

This is the low-cost phone; I am fully expecting that it will NOT have LTE, to get the cost of the cellular modem down.

The latest pics look much better than the first one.

I guess if the specs are better than the 4S and it costs around $200 unlocked, I could buy it instead of a discounted Z10 or a dual-SIM 720p Android.

Whatever I get, it must have LTE and all standard 3G bands.

 

[Beachhead999]

Fugly as hell. Unfortunately Apple is moving away from being a premium brand to being a commodity brand. Tim is chasing the dollar now.

 

[cwoloszynski]

Don't forget the fingerprint reader in the 5S and (I'm speculating) that this one won't have LTE, just 3G.

Quite a nice distinction in the market.

It is expected to have a 5 mpxl camera which is a step down from the existing iphone 5. It is also expected to have one flash on the back while the 5S is expected to have 2. I'm sure you are right there likely wil be software restrictions.

 

[Reason077]

I've started to think that this might be a terrible move by Apple. Soon there will be tons of cheap iphones that people don't care about everywhere.

Yup. These will be so cheap that they're basically disposable. Will probably end up like plastic shopping bags - discarded iPhones everywhere, littering the streets and clogging up landfills. Bad bad move, Apple.

 

[4TheLoveOfTech]

It's just another fill in model as Apple accepts that as the mass market retailer they've become, the public expects reasonably priced products. They don't buy style they buy low price. A perfect phone for the Walmart crowd, it's time to embrace Apples mass market mentality. It's just a numbers game at this point. Offered in colorful plastic shells to grab the impulse buyers, this phone will do what's expected of it. Lure people in, who cannot afford Apples other pricier products. I predict massive sales volume for the cheap iPhone.

Did you mean Walmart crowd or Apple Store Crowd?

 

[Tiger8]

Well, 239 is my target price for a replacement unlocked phone.

Given that it will probably not have a microSDXC slot and my 4S is too tight at 32GB, I guess it will not be Apple for me.

There are loads of excellent Windows 8 phone for less than $200, Nokia 521, HTC 8S

 

[Aidyn's X]

This new back keeps me thinking of this infomercial genius....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI2moioob30

Creepy

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Just for the record, there was never a white plastic MBA. That was a white plastic MacBook.

Actually it was "polycarbonate." Plastic sounds too cheap. I'm sure this phone will be touted as the same. "Durable polycarbonate shell."

 

[samcraig]

It's just another fill in model as Apple accepts that as the mass market retailer they've become, the public expects reasonably priced products. They don't buy style they buy low price. A perfect phone for the Walmart crowd, it's time to embrace Apples mass market mentality. It's just a numbers game at this point. Offered in colorful plastic shells to grab the impulse buyers, this phone will do what's expected of it. Lure people in, who cannot afford Apples other pricier products. I predict massive sales volume for the cheap iPhone.

They already sell iPhones at WalMart.

 

[57004]

It's starting to grow on me, at least in white or black. The other colors are gagarific

I think they'll keep black as a premium only (e.g. only on the aluminium models), as we have seen no black shell in all the leaks to date.

They did the same in their plastic days: The black macbook was only available on the highest-end model so it wouldn't be anything new.

I agree on the other colours though - they're horrible. I think when you look at sales it'll be 90% for the white one.

 

[g88bo]

Thanks for pointing that out. You are probably right, this is probably a fake (chinese) version of it, or an earlier prototype. That said, i still think this product will come out and i still think it'll look like this.

i'd say it will look similar but more elegant the one from DetroitBORG (video posted some days ago) seems more legit. and in the video, they mentioned the light font which corresponds with the iOS 7 design.

 

[57004]

Also, the low-cost iPhone does not have metal rings around its ports nor its camera lenses.

How do you know that? You've only seen empty cases so far. The metal rings could well be part of the actual connectors.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

it's time to embrace Apples mass market mentality.

Where have you been for the last decade. :roll eyes:

Oh wait… have you been going around with your iPod and iPhone and iPad thinking they had an air of exclusivity and made you look special?

 

[designaholic]

"We're going to 'double down' on secrecy" ~ Tim Cook

 

[LostSoul80]

It appears the internals are there. Notice how the leaked cover didn't have cuts for the buttons, while the side of the depicted device has one.
It's also clear that there are different modules installed, such as the lightning power input and the audio jack.

If it's a fake, it's very well done. I think this is legit.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

This is the low-cost phone; I am fully expecting that it will NOT have LTE, to get the cost of the cellular modem down.

It's not a low cost phone, it's a "lower cost" phone. Apple can't afford to put out a POS no-frill budget phone. That completely voids the whole point of making a less expensive iPhone. Because carriers are going away from 3G as they get more LTE service up and running. 3G is a dead standard broadcasting.

The lower cost iPhone will likely be somewhere between a 4S and a 5 feature-wise.

 

[anberlinairlift]

Lol leave it to China.

 

[GoodWatch]

False. There have always been a huge number of MacRumors members who kept hating after the release of the product/software. If it's mainly because they don't want to seem impressionable, that's still a question, but it's silly to assume that there are only sheep here.

I'm just wondering where you get your confidence from. Have you kept tabs on the 'haters' all those years? I appreciate that MR is populated with a slightly biassed user base and that they tend to do not condone anything that makes Apple think 'less different' but do you really believe what you've stated above? "Apple will never, ever sell a 7" iPad!". "Apple will never, ever design an iPhone with a 5" screen". "Apple will never, ever market another plastic iPhone". I'm sorry to say this but my general impression is that the moment Apple decides to to just that, it becomes a stroke of genius. The right decision. An example to the rest of the industry. What would Steve do?

And you know what? It usually turns out to be just that stroke of genius! The iPad Mini is selling like hot cakes. And that new 'cheap' iPhone will too. I'm not taking a cheap shot at you or trying to insult. The world is changing and Apple is too. They adapt. You don't have to feel sorry for that poor underdog any more, bullied by MS. They have $145 BILLION in cash for crying out loud. They can buy MS! If I read posts stating that Apple is 'elitist' or that people that buy Android phones don't have the funds to buy a car I just shake my head in disbelief. It spoils my Apple fun.

 

[twigman08]

I do fully believe this is happening. The rumors and leaks we are seeing don't really scream fake like any other rumor we have on the iPhone. These rumors seem very close to the iPhone 5 rumors we had. I remember everyone screaming those were fake too. Look how that turned out.

With that said, something tells me this picture is a "fake." From it could be a case or something else, but the fact that the bold black letters of the notices and "iPhone" text are a lot different than we have have seen before. I just don't see the text being that bold from what we have seen.

It does seem to be together what ever it is. The headphone jack and other places have like a little gold/metal ring around it like it's a case or put together.

 

[gotluck]

No lte would mean this phone is not interesting.

 

[Vinamra]

My only concern is, there have been so many leaks/mockups of the rear shell of this "Low Cost iPhone" but absolutely nothing for the front panel?

Earlier this month, it was rumored that the 5S and the low cost iPhone will be going into mass production around this time. July is nearing its end so I'm wondering if we'll be seeing the front panels of this and the 5S (for which I'm really excited, mainly because of the suspected hardware upgrades) any time soon!

 

[blitzer09x87]

i'm more excited about the sony xperia box (in the pic), i think it's the "honami" their long-rumored high-ender.

 

[jonathanxx1]

If this goes on sale, and it probably will,
it means that Apple want to get as much android users into the Apple ecosystem, and with the arrival of ios7 im sure they will do so.
For me i dont care about the plastic, its not as scratchy as aluminium and it doesnt look bad.
It will look like the current ipod touch with phone ability.

 

[brdeveloper]

This is NOT the cheaper iPhone. This is the luxury iPhone 5S (Safer).

The metal-bodied iPhone 5 will continuing being sold as the unsafe, cheaper iPhone 5 (which offers risk of electric shock) in multiple colors.

 

[mylios101]

I don't know about you guys, but to me, this specific picture of the "low-cost iPhone" looks like a cheap Chinese clone. And it appears to have a serial stamping, that the pictures of the shells we've seen before don't have. They only get a serial when they get matching hardware, with a hardware encoded serial.

 

[Defender2010]

False. There have always been a huge number of macrumors members who kept hating after the release of the product/software. If it's mainly because they don't want to seem impressionable, that's still a question, but it's silly to assume that there are only sheeps here.

yeah, sheeps